Some 50 residents - from Section 23 in Shah Alam - who gathered after the Friday prayers at the state Mosque, placed the decapitated head of a cow outside the gates of the state secretariat building in protest against the proposed relocation of a Hindu temple to their area.

The protesters had marched some 300mfrom the state mosque to the state secretariat building.

The cow is considered SACRED among Hindus.

Before dispersing, several protesters spat and stomped on the cow's head.

" If there is blood, you (the state government) will be responsible if you are adamant about building the temple.

"This is a warning. Relocate the temple to Section 22. This cow is a present to the state government. This is a gift from us.

We will not budge one inch, even if lives are lost or blood is made to flow. We will still defend Section 23 from having a temple built there."

The MIC secretary-general,Dr S Subramaniam, who is also Human Resources Minister, said PM Najib had conveyed his disappointment when he telephoned him regarding the incident.

Subramanium said,

"The prime minister was very upset. He promised to look into the problem and nip it in the bud.

Some 15 minutes later, the prime minister called back and said that he had spoken to Inspector-General of Police (Musa Hassan) and instructed him to take immediate action."

Selangor executive councillor Dr Xavier Jeyakumar described the protest as "unwarranted, unacceptable and without sensitivity towards other religions."

He said,

"These people should have ethics.

They are inciting racial and religious hatred.

I am going to lodge a police report against these people."

MIC president S Samy Vellu , > who called it an "intolerable" act carried out by an "extremist group." He called on the government and the police to take action against the organisers of this protest. They must be punished according to the law for endangering racial harmony in this country, he added.

Samy Vellu said,

"The cow is a sacred animal of the Hindus, and for this group to resort to such action, is intolerable and tantamount to challenging the freedom of religion as enshrined in the Malaysian Constitution.

It is the right of Malaysians of any faith, including Hindus to build temples and other places of worships.

I am very sad that this group had paraded the cow's head on their way to the state secretariat building.

We must not allow anyone to challenge or ridicule any religion in this country.

I am worried that this action may lead to retaliation from the Hindu community. However, I wish to urge the Hindus especially to be calm and let the authorities deal with it. "

Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy< called the protest a "disgraceful" act. "It was very uncivilised and brutish...and the group had just come after attending their (Friday) prayers," the DAP leader said.

MIC Youth was also appalled and expressed shock over the protest.

The wing's chief T Mohan said,

"It is a very shameful and disgraceful act and they do not seem to have any feelings for the sentiments of the Hindu community.

We strongly condemn their actions and call on the authorities to take immediate action. There are proper channels to express one's views but ridiculing the Hindu religion reflects the shallow minds of the protesters."

Human Rights Party leader P Uthayakumarwas disappointed that the police did not arrest those involved in the protest.

He said the Attorney-General's Chambers should initiate criminal proceedings and charge them under Sections 298 and 298 (A) of the Penal Code read together with Article 11 of the Federal Constitution.

Section 298 concerns the offence of uttering words etc with the deliberate intent to wound religious feelings while Section 298 (A) is related to the offence of causing disharmony.

Makkal Sakthi Party president S Thanendran also condemned the protest as a "barbaric" act.

He urged the Selangor government as well as the police not to tolerate this sort of behaviour and to take stern action against the protesters.

"How can a temple disturb the peace of these people? Things can become really ugly if we start raising other questions," he said.

Allah Representative,Zolkapli Nordin PKR (Kulim) You seems to talk so much about Islam, where are you now, say something or maybe you want to say something about "jihad " this time as it is against the Hindus and by carrying the the cow head to the state secretariat building.This is purely barbarian and not Muslim people, cos muslim don't act this way

there are some rumours that hassan ali the state exco was around the area..speculations is there is now a campaign..in shah alam..non muslim factory n offices are to shift out from muslim populated majority , is this true?

there are some rumours that hassan ali the state exco was around the area..speculations is there is now a campaign..in shah alam..non muslim factory n offices are to shift out from muslim populated majority , is this true?

seems to me that the '1Malaysia' slogan is not working, instead, having adverse effects. why? we as malaysians live in a multi-racial country, we should live with each other in peace. please, this is the month of Ramadhan. these things should not be happening.

where is Datuk Seri Najib now when he so proudly declared '1Malaysia' previously?

things are happening, and if the politicians don't act faster than their usual pace, Malaysia would clearly have an epic brain drain.all our brains are moving over to Singapore, with the less capable left here. would Malaysia be able to bear the consequences when this happens?

instead of Malaysia laughing and declaring that the splitting of Malaysia and Singapore was a good thing in 1965, Lee Kuan Yew would be laughing at us now.